Media pressures and corporate disclosure of social responsibility performance information : a study of two global clothing and sports retail companies

This paper investigates the social and environmental disclosure practices of two large multinational companies, specifically Nike and Hennés & Mauritz. Utilising a joint consideration of legitimacy theory and media agenda setting theory, we investigate the linkage between negative media attention, and positive corporate social and environmental disclosures. Our results generally support a view that for those industry-related social and environmental issues attracting the greatest amount of negative media attention, these corporations react by providing positive social and environmental disclosures. The results were particularly significant in relation to labour practices in developing countries - the issue attracting the greatest amount of negative media attention for the companies in question.

A depth of data : research messages on the state of social work education in England

In the light of extensive media coverage of social work education, this article uses information from the Department of Health funded three-years multi-method evaluation of the social work degree qualification in England to discuss areas in which qualifying education might be improved. It argues that too great a concern with the 'A' level performance of social work applicants risks not paying enough attention to the non-academic qualities that they will need to work in the changing world of children's and adult services. Better partnership working between employers and universities will help students make the transition into the workplace. This includes greater opportunities for employers and practitioners to be involved in candidate selection and teaching on qualifying programmes.

Implementing climate change policies consistent with integrated coastal zone management : a case study of Victoria, Australia

Whilst the proliferation of publications on climate change science is remarkable and makes the updating of responses to impacts of climate change on coastal environments daunting, the area of policy responses is even more confusing and complex. This is because policy responses do not need to consider the science of climate change alone but also have to weigh up the social and economic implications of the impact of climate change on coastal communities. In a federated nation such as Australia this has the added complication of three tiers of Government (Federal, State and local) having to interact in order to co-ordinate any policy responses. These complications should be aided by the internationally accepted concept of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) which has been prevalent in Australian coastal planning and management for several decades. This paper uses the State of Victoria, Australia as a case study of how Governments are responding to these challenges through using the principles of ICZM. The paper will review recent inquires and investigations in Australia and canvas the policy responses to these reviews, concentrating on the State of Victoria. The paper analyses how consistent these evolving policy responses are with ICZM and suggests lessons for other jurisdictions arising from the Victorian experience.

Splash!: a prospective birth cohort study of the impact of environmental, social and family-level influences on child oral health and obesity related risk factors and outcomes

Background: Dental caries (decay) is the most prevalent disease of childhood. It is often left untreated and can impact negatively on general health, and physical, developmental, social and learning outcomes. Similar to other health issues, the greatest burden of dental caries is seen in those of low socio-economic position. In addition, a number of diet-related risk factors for dental caries are shared risk factors for the development of childhood obesity. These include high and frequent consumption of refined carbohydrates (predominately sugars), and soft drinks and other sweetened beverages, and low intake of (fluoridated) water. The prevalence of childhood obesity is also at a concerning level in most countries and there is an opportunity to determine interventions for addressing both of these largely preventable conditions through sustainable and equitable solutions. This study aims to prospectively examine the impact of drink choices on child obesity risk and oral health status.
Methods/Design: This is a two-stage study using a mixed methods research approach. The first stage involves qualitative interviews of a sub-sample of recruited parents to develop an understanding of the processes involved in drink choice, and inform the development of the Discrete Choice Experiment analysis and the measurement instruments to be used in the second stage. The second stage involves the establishment of a prospective birth cohort of 500 children from disadvantaged communities in rural and regional Victoria, Australia (with and without water fluoridation). This longitudinal design allows measurement of changes in the child’s diet over time, exposure to fluoride sources including water, dental caries progression, and the risk of childhood obesity.
Discussion: This research will provide a unique contribution to integrated health, education and social policy and program directions, by providing clearer policy relevant evidence on strategies to counter social and environmental factors which predispose infants and children to poor health, wellbeing and social outcomes; and evidence-based strategies to promote health and prevent disease through the adoption of healthier lifestyles and diet. Further, given the absence of evidence on the processes and effectiveness of contemporary policy implementation, such as community water fluoridation in rural and regional communities it’s approach and findings will be extremely
informative.

The multiple relationships between the discipline of social work and the contributions of Michael White

Michael White, the Australian narrative practitioner, died in April this year. Given White trained in social work and has had a large impact on many social workers, it is timely to investigate the opaque relationships linking White and his work with his discipline-of-origin. The present examination proceeds in three steps. First, a schematic outline of White’s intellectual influences and achievements is set out; second, the alignments, as well as tensions, between White’s work and his discipline-of-origin are considered; and, third, it is argued that White was informed by, and went on to produce a body of work that further informed, the contesting spirit that is the wellspring of the discipline of social work. This conclusion is reached mindful of the fact that White remained antagonistic to the role played by the professions in general and that he did not identify with the title ‘social worker’ in particular.

On your bike! A cross-sectional study of the individual, social and environmental correlates of cycling to school

Background : Active school transport (AST) has declined rapidly in recent decades. While many studies have examined walking, cycling to school has received very little attention. Correlates of cycling are likely to differ to those from walking and cycling enables AST from further distances. This study examined individual, social and environmental factors associated with cycling to school among elementary school-aged children, stratified by gender.

Methods : Children (n = 1197) attending 25 Australian primary schools located in high or low walkable neighborhoods, completed a one-week travel diary and a parent/child questionnaire on travel habits and attitudes.

Results : Overall, 31.2% of boys and 14.6% of girls cycled ≥ 1 trip/week, however 59.4% of boys and 36.7% of girls reported cycling as their preferred school transport mode. In boys (but not girls), school neighborhood design was significantly associated with cycling: i.e., boys attending schools in neighborhoods with high connectivity and low traffic were 5.58 times more likely to cycle (95% CI 1.11-27.96) and for each kilometer boys lived from school the odds of cycling reduced by 0.70 (95% CI 0.63-0.99). Irrespective of gender, cycling to school was associated with parental confidence in their child's cycling ability (boys: OR 10.39; 95% CI 3.79-28.48; girls: OR 4.03; 95% CI 2.02-8.05), parental perceived convenience of driving (boys: OR 0.42; 95% CI 0.23-0.74; girls: OR 0.40; 95% CI 0.20-0.82); and child's preference to cycle (boys: OR 5.68; 95% CI 3.23-9.98; girls: OR 3.73; 95% CI 2.26-6.17).

Conclusion : School proximity, street network connectivity and traffic exposure in school neighborhoods was associated with boys (but not girls) cycling to school. Irrespective of gender, parents need to be confident in their child's cycling ability and must prioritize cycling over driving.

A cross-sectional study of the individual, social, and built environmental correlates of pedometer based physical activity among elementary school children

Background: Children who participate in regular physical activity obtain health benefits. Preliminary pedometerbased cut-points representing sufficient levels of physical activity among youth have been established; however limited evidence regarding correlates of achieving these cut-points exists. The purpose of this study was to identify correlates of pedometer-based cut-points among elementary school-aged children.
Method: A cross-section of children in grades 5-7 (10-12 years of age) were randomly selected from the most (n = 13) and least (n = 12) ‘walkable’ public elementary schools (Perth, Western Australia), stratified by socioeconomic status. Children (n = 1480; response rate = 56.6%) and parents (n = 1332; response rate = 88.8%) completed a survey, and steps were collected from children using pedometers. Pedometer data were categorized to reflect the sex-specific pedometer-based cut-points of ≥15000 steps/day for boys and ≥12000 steps/day for girls. Associations between socio-demographic characteristics, sedentary and active leisure-time behavior, independent mobility, active transportation and built environmental variables - collected from the child and parent surveys - and meeting pedometer-based cut-points were estimated (odds ratios: OR) using generalized estimating equations.
Results: Overall 927 children participated in all components of the study and provided complete data. On average, children took 11407 ± 3136 steps/day (boys: 12270 ± 3350 vs. girls: 10681 ± 2745 steps/day; p < 0.001) and 25.9% (boys: 19.1 vs. girls: 31.6%; p < 0.001) achieved the pedometer-based cut-points. After adjusting for all other variables and school clustering, meeting the pedometer-based cut-points was negatively associated (p < 0.05) with being male (OR = 0.42), parent self-reported number of different destinations in the neighborhood (OR 0.93), and a friend’s (OR 0.62) or relative’s (OR 0.44, boys only) house being at least a 10-minute walk from home. Achieving the pedometer-based cut-points was positively associated with participating in screen-time < 2 hours/day (OR 1.88), not being driven to school (OR 1.48), attending a school located in a high SES neighborhood (OR 1.33), the average number of steps among children within the respondent’s grade (for each 500 step/day increase: OR 1.29), and living further than a 10-minute walk from a relative’s house (OR 1.69, girls only).
Conclusions: Comprehensive multi-level interventions that reduce screen-time, encourage active travel to/from school and foster a physically active classroom culture might encourage more physical activity among children.

Social intelligence and top management team: an exploratory study of external knowledge acquisition for strategic change in global IT service providers in India

This paper focuses on the processes by which firms, particularly knowledge intensive firms, can augment their overall knowledge stock by tapping into external sources of knowledge. It is argued that Top Management Teams' (TMTs') social intelligence is a critical learning capability in acquiring external knowledge that leads to strategic change. Social intelligence involves social awareness, social understanding and social skills. The study draws from the experience of 11 of the largest Information Technology Service Providers (ITSPs) in India and based on in-depth interviews. The findings show that TMTs' learning capability in the context of social intelligence to interact with external stakeholders is important to ITSPs in facilitating external knowledge acquisition and allowing new knowledge emerge within and across networks. The findings provide significant insights into ITSPs emerging in other developing countries such as in China. Research limitation and future research direction are also provided.

Motivation and social contexts : A crossnational pilot study of achievement, power, and affiliation motives

Previous research suggests that there is a relationship between social contexts (e.g., economic growth, engagement in wars) and motives within populations. In particular, high achievement motive is associated with subsequent economic growth, which in turn increases power motive. Increased national achievement and power motives have been argued to precede social changes that lead to decreased affiliation motives, and engagement in wars. The present study aimed to examine differences in achievement, power, and affiliation motives between 266 college students in China (a nation with sustained high economic growth) and 255 college students in the USA (a nation with previously strong but now slowing economic growth, and engaged in war). Analysis of personal strivings suggested that Chinese college students showed significantly higher levels of achievement motive than the American college students, but American college students showed significantly higher levels of affiliation motive than Chinese college students. Overall, males exhibited higher achievement motivation than females. No significant interaction effects were found for gender by location for any of the three motives. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research.

Correlates of socio-economic inequalities in women’s television viewing : a study of intrapersonal, social and environmental mediators

Introduction

Socio-economically disadvantaged women are at a greater risk of spending excess time engaged in television viewing, a behavior linked to several adverse health outcomes. However, the factors which explain socio-economic differences in television viewing are unknown. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of intrapersonal, social and environmental factors to mediating socio-economic (educational) inequalities in women's television viewing.
Methods

Cross-sectional data were provided by 1,554 women (aged 18-65) who participated in the 'Socio-economic Status and Activity in Women study' of 2004. Based on an ecological framework, women self-reported their socio-economic position (highest education level), television viewing, as well as a number of potential intrapersonal (enjoyment of television viewing, preference for leisure-time sedentary behavior, depression, stress, weight status), social (social participation, interpersonal trust, social cohesion, social support for physical activity from friends and from family) and physical activity environmental factors (safety, aesthetics, distance to places of interest, and distance to physical activity facilities).
Results

Multiple mediating analyses showed that two intrapersonal factors (enjoyment of television viewing and weight status) and two social factors (social cohesion and social support from friends for physical activity) partly explained the educational inequalities in women's television viewing. No physical activity environmental factors mediated educational variations in television viewing.
Conclusions

Acknowledging the cross-sectional nature of this study, these findings suggest that health promotion interventions aimed at reducing educational inequalities in television viewing should focus on intrapersonal and social strategies, particularly providing enjoyable alternatives to television viewing, weight-loss/management information, increasing social cohesion in the neighborhood and promoting friend support for activity.

Exercising sociomathematical norms in classroom discourse about data representation : insights from one case study of a grade 6 lesson in Indonesia

This paper examines a research study to foster mathematical discourse about data representations among Indonesian students. It was situated in the context of implementing an Indonesian version of Realistic Mathematics Education, labelled as PMRI, in primary schools. A case study of one lesson involving Grade 6 students on the choice of data representations in Yogyakarta will be discussed. The analysis focused on the enacted social norms and sociomathematical norms during a wholeclass discussion and their impacts on students’ knowledge of data representations. The need for constant effort to enact these norms in classroom mathematical discourse is highlighted.

Understanding the role of social media monitoring in generating external intelligence

Social media data are becoming increasingly critical for businesses to capture, analyse, and utilise in a timely manner. However, the unstructured and distributed nature and volume of this information makes the task of extracting useful and practical information challenging. Given the dynamic evolution of social media and social media monitoring, our current understanding of how social media monitoring can help organisations to create business value is inadequate. As a result, there is a need to study how organisations can (a) extract and analyse social media data related to their business (Sensing), and (b) utilise external intelligence gained from social media monitoring for specific business initiatives (Seizing). This study uses a qualitative approach with a multiple embedded case study design to understand the phenomenon of social media monitoring and its outcome for organisations. Anticipated contributions are presented.

The social life of categories : an empirical study of term categorization

Most classification schemes in common use are actually categorization schemes which fall somewhere on a continuum between unstructured, uncontrolled lists of terms and formal classifications. Over time, terms change meaning and acquire new definitions. This paper presents the results of an approach that used the librarianship principle of consensus to form categories of terms and to relate those categories using a domain reference group. Boisot's Social Learning Cycle (SLC) was then used as a model with which to explain category variations. The single study undertaken in this investigation demonstrated the value of the SLC for explaining the variations between reference group members, and showed the potential for explaining category changes over time. This identifies areas in which consensus is breaking down or emerging, allowing for focused maintenance of categorical schemes.